Vida

It is no secret that Draco Rosa went through a very difficult time in his personal life recently, he was diagnosed with cancer (a non-Hodgkin lymphoma) near his liver. He has been very public about it as far as sharing photos of his chemotherapy and hospital time via his Instagram account. Fortunately after treatment and a stem cell transplant he was recently declared cancer free. What is the relevance of this if we are to talk about his new album? 'Vida' was conceived as a response to his recent experience with cancer. Recorded during the healing process, Draco said in an interview about 'Vida': " the love and support of the public and all partners involved in this project has been a source of life and inspiration.", Draco intended the album to be a testament of his music, in the end and far from being a posthumous album, 'Vida' was a fundamental part in his recovery.How does 'Vida' hold as an album? We have to keep in mind that the album originated from conversations with other artists and friends of Draco who called him about his health; it was recorded at the same time Draco was undergoing treatment, most of the versions included here are basically the same musical arrangements with other new voice recordings added to them. With this in mind, Draco's newest studio album is a good entry in his discography, but after listening to it, there'll be no doubt that had Draco been in his prime, the result could have been better.The album opens with 'Esto es vida', which preserves its beautiful arrangement from 'Amor Vincit Omnia', except for the inclusion of Juan Luis Guerra's vocals. Same case with 'Penelope', but in this one the original arrangement is wasted on Fher's voice, I have to say I have never been a fan of Mana, I think they have good songs and whatnot but I really do not think Fher has a good voice, and that is demonstrated in this track, while Draco sings the song as we know it, Fher literally yells, making it the most unpleasant version of the song I have heard. Then the fist surprise of the album, Alejandro Sanz owns 'Como me acuerdo', I could not imagine how this would sound and could not believe how well the song fits his voice when I first heard it, this is one of the highlights in 'Vida' I recommend you pay special attention to. Enrique Bunbury makes an appearance in the first song of the album with a different arrangement than the original. 'Obra de arte' keeps its beautiful lyrics but in a darker tone, I have mixed feelings about this particular song, as much as I like Enrique as an artist, I prefer the original version over this one. 'Blanca mujer' also suffers from the same as 'Penelope', Shakira's voice just feels off in this one. Then, the first official single of the album (as released on January 6, 2013), 'Mas y mas' is a duet with fellow ex-Menudo, Ricky Martin. I have heard from several different people over the years that Ricky and Draco's voices are very similar, well this song should prove otherwise, a great choice as a first single. Andres Calamaro imprints his own style in 'Vagabundo', this is one of those versions that you either love or you hate, I personally liked it but think I am biased as a fan of Calamaro, I can see though why others may not like it, next to Draco, Calamaro's voice may sound old (for the lack of a better adjective). Juanes accompanies Draco on a revisited version of 'Roto por ti' ('El teatro de absurdo'). Marc Anthony's choice could not have been better, the version he sings with Draco of 'Paraiso prometido' is another highlight of the album. One of my favorite songs from Draco, 'Cruzando puertas', is present in the album with the voice of none other than Jose Feliciano. His voice may not be what it used to and the result sounds... lacking (in my humble opinion) Calle 13 closes the album with an impressive version of 'Madre tierra', the arrangement fits the song very well and the result is an excellent version to close 'Vida'.As a duets album, I honestly think it is a hit or miss, some great versions and some others that may sound lacking. The real value of the album though, is what it represents and the period in Draco's life it covers. As such, it is a memorable effort that will always hold a special place among fans. The release date of the album had been pushed back several times because of Draco's health issues, when the final release date was announced back on January 2013, it was great news to me to learn that Draco had been declared cancer-free.

This CD is magical and beyond musical, this album is based on songs that Draco has already done spanning an amazing career, but these are not just his hits although they were all hits, these are the songs that mean the most to him on a personal aspect. He picked amazing people to sign with him that just makes these songs stand out even more, I was lucky to have bought the Puerto Rico Exclusive which comes with the better version of Mas Y Mas, which is the video version without Ricky Martin which is much better than the original and the new version with Ricky. I say new version because these are not remixes, these are new versions which makes these songs sound brand new to the ear of the true fan. Draco writes, produces and makes the most beautiful songs ever, and this CD will show just how amazing his talent is. Enjoy this CD

An Amazing tribute to one of the greatest artists of our time Draco Rosa! Songs such as Roto por Ti, Obra de Arte, Reza por­ Mi, Paraíso Prometido, Amantes hasta el Fin..are songs that ­makes you appreciated the pure talent an­d the powerful voices from Draco Rosa and all the artists that participated on this majestic work of art....­I honestly can't stop listening to the w­hole album.

Nice cd. Great music!

Was not a fan of all the duets. I like Robi's music, but there was something about the duets that just didn't flow with me.

AAAAA+

I Got in touch with this CD while I was looking for something else, and I'm very satisfied. Love the concept, Love the lyrics, Love the rythm, Love the idea of sharing this musical jewerly between all those talented singers!!

Awesome

Ich hatte mir den Grammy-Gewinner bestellt und dachte, dies ist der Hammer des Jahres. War es aber nicht. Schöner Gesang, aber nicht alle Kompositionen sind eingängig, manche doch ziemlich schräg. Habe ich dann verschenkt.

全曲曲調が多岐にわたり、バラエティにとんだ作りになっています。全曲誰かとコラボしていて、ロサのこだわりが見てとれます。個人的にあえて一曲選ぶなら、シャキーラとのヂュエット「BLANCA MUJER」でしょう。また、このアルバムの売りにもなっているリッキー・マーティンとの「MAS Y MAS」はYou TubeでVersion Ocultaとして別バージョンがアップロードされています。こちらは同じ曲なのに、曲調が違うだけでこんなにも別の曲のように聞こえるのか、と驚かされます。同じメヌード出身ながら、リッキーとは違った色を出しているドラコ・ロサです。ラテン初心者から玄人まで満足できるアルバムになっているのではないでしょうか。